Plastics can be super useful.
But some of the properties that make
them helpful in our day-to-day lives
like they're indestructability also
make them a potential problem, because they just never
go away.
Today in collaboration with Merck KGaA, Darmstadt Germany,
I want to talk about microplastics,
what they are, where they are, and how we can try and keep
them out of the environment.
When we use the word plastic, we're
typically talking about this kind of stuff.
Plastics are composed of chains of molecules called polymers.
Polymers can be found in nature in things
like cellulose in plants.
But they can also be synthetic in things like PVC.
They're long chain structure makes
them malleable and strong, which makes them super useful.
If you look around you right now,
I would bet that you can probably
count 10 different things made out of plastic.
They've really become ubiquitous in our modern world.
And sometimes that's for good reason.
Being able to make cheap sturdy medical equipment out
of plastic is awesome.
Having keyboard keys is pretty great.
Plastics can be found in bicycle helmets and televisions
and cell phones and building material.
But because it's so cheap and easy to make stuff out
of plastic, it started to find its way into our lives
in ways that probably aren't necessary.
Like the takeout place really did not
have to add an entire handful of plastic utensils to my order
when I have plenty of forks at home.
And the thing about plastic is that it takes a really long
time to break down and go away.
While plastics can break down into smaller pieces
when exposed to things like heat, light, or pressure,
it can take tens to hundreds of years for something
like a plastic bag or plastic water bottle
to break down and fully decompose,
depending on exactly what kind of plastic it's made out of.
And while you can probably see some of these long lasting bits
of debris on a walk through your neighborhood,
smaller pieces called microplastics
are beginning to pop up in our waterways, our homes, and even
our air.
So what are microplastics?
They're tiny bits of plastic that
range between 100 nanometers to 1 micrometer small.
Some microplastics are primary microplastics,
meaning that they were manufactured to be that small,
like those tiny plastic beads that
used to show up in body wash.
There are also secondary microplastics
which are the result of a larger chunk of plastic breaking down.
And microplastics are small and easily moved around,
so many of them wind up in our waterways.
This can happen from larger plastic litter in something
like a river breaking down over time.
Or it can happen by traveling from our homes
out into the water supply.
And some of these fibers can be removed by wastewater treatment
plants which is great.
But many of them are too small.
And this all depends on the size and type of filter
each individual plant is using.
Even a small amount percentage wise of microplastics leaving
the plants can result in a large amount of total microplastics
ending up in the ocean.
Merck KGaA Darmstadt Germany's new microplastic's
dot me film shows the life of a microplastic shed
from a toothbrush fiber, as it travels from a sink
through waterways into the ocean and then back
onto a diner's plate.
But toothbrush fibers and plastic beads
aren't the only kinds of microplastics
that start off in our homes.
Up to 60% of microplastics found in fresh water
may actually be from our laundry.
But how big of a problem is this?
Like should we really care about tiny pieces of plastic
floating around in the ocean.
They're tiny.
Well, there's a lot of active research looking
into this that has already found evidence
of microplastic ingestion in over 150 species of fish,
both in fresh and salt water.
This plastic can end up clogging their GI tract which
can cause blockages or even starvation, if the fish thinks
that it's full but isn't actually getting any nutrition
from all those plastic pieces.
Some studies have also shown in a laboratory setting
that fine microplastic particles can migrate
to the liver and the gills of the fish
where they can cause inflammation and damage.
And the large surface area of microplastics
means that they can absorb chemicals and heavy metals
from the water that can then be transferred to the fish.
So fish are eating these plastics.
But what about us?
It's estimated that humans consume between 39
to 52,000 microplastic particles per year,
depending on your lifestyle.
And we inhale even more from the air around us, which is wild.
The microplastic's dot me website
lets you take a quiz about your lifestyle
to get an estimate of how many microplastic particles
you are taking in each year.
Do you eat a lot of shellfish?
They're big reservoirs of microplastics
along with normal fish.
Microplastics have even been found in commercial salt,
sugar, and honey.
And we're not really sure yet what kind of health risks
these could pose to us in the long term.
Your body likely disposes of over 90%
of ingested microplastics through your poop.
But what about the other 10%?
Some research suggests that they may
be able to pass through our intestinal membranes
and travel to other parts of the body.
And that they might go on to cause
inflammation and other kinds of cellular or immune stress.
But it is still an emerging field of study.
OK.
So microplastics are in the water.
And they could be harmful to both you and fish.
But how many of them are we each releasing into the world
every time we head to the laundromat?
Take a quick peek at your clothing labels.
Maybe you've got a bunch of clothing
that's made out of natural fibers, like cotton or wool.
Or maybe you've got clothing made from things like nylon,
rayon, or polyester.
These are all manufactured fibers.
Some like viscose or rayon are actually
derived from natural polymers and fibers like cellulose.
Others like nylon, acrylic, and polyester
are synthetic fibers that are made up of plastic polymers.
These are plastics.
You're pretty much wearing plastic.
And these fibers can be really useful to make
fabrics with stretch, or fabrics that are breathable.
And also fabrics that are cheap and affordable.
But when you wash them, small fibers
can break off and enter the waterways
as microplastic pollution.
Just think of how many fibers are left over
in your dryer lint collector at the end of a run.
Some of those same kinds of fibers
are breaking off in your washing machine, too.
For many of us, completely transforming our wardrobes
into all natural fibers or materials that
won't shed these kinds of plastics
just isn't realistic or economically feasible to ask
of a lot of people.
I've really been trying to take material into consideration
when I buy clothing for the past couple of years,
both because of its environmental considerations
of where those fabrics came from and where
they're going to end up.
But also because I want to be trying to buy things
that will last longer and fit into my wardrobe and lifestyle
better, so that I'll have to buy fewer items of clothing
overall.
But I still have plenty of fabrics in my closet
that could be contributing to microplastic pollution
through my laundry.
I'm already someone who tries to make my clothing last longer
by washing a lot of it on gentle cycles
and rewearing things multiple times between washes
and hang drying.
But I still worry about how much plastic is leaving
through my washing machine.
But there are ways that I can try and prevent this.
So I could install a filter that's specifically
designed to remove these microplastics
from the wastewater.
But they are really expensive.
And I'm also renting this apartment.
So that's kind of off the table.
Another option is things that can
go into your washer to prevent those microplastics
from leaving.
There are companies that sell balls
that claim to capture these fibers in the wash water.
And also some companies that sell bags
that you can wash your plastic and synthetic fabrics in
to track these fibers.
And there's even some new awesome research coming out
about using sound waves to try and focus and then
remove fibers from your laundry wastewater, which is so cool.
And I've linked an article about that down below.
But it is not a consumer option.
So I went with the bag option.
Unfortunately, I don't have a great setup here
that would allow me to do a controlled test
of the microplastic waste that would leave
my washer from identical loads of laundry washed
with and without this bag.
So I am not going to review or recommend it.
Because I would only want to do that if I
had the numbers to back it up.
And my washing machine is just not set up for that.
But I do want to try it.
Oh, it's bigger than I thought.
Hello and welcome to my washing machine.
This isn't weird at all.
So I've separated this load of laundry into two piles.
One that is all cotton.
And one, some of them are cotton and polyester blends.
And then this sweater is all acrylic, which is sad
because I love this sweater.
So I'm going to take the cotton stuff and put it straight in.
But I'm going to take all of these potential microplastic
polluters and put them into this bag.
So there are maybe some tiny fibers here
in some of the seams.
Again, it's hard to know without some sort of control test
exactly how much this is really helping.
And in the face of all of the plastic pollution in the world,
this feels like a very small step.
Hopefully, you know, it'll make me feel a little bit better
about both wearing and washing some of my favorite clothing,
while also being conscious about the impact
that my wardrobe has.
You can learn more about microplastics
in the world around you by visiting Merck KGaA Darmstadt
Germany's microplastic's dot me page in the description box
below.
I was genuinely surprised by just how many
microplastics I am estimated to be taking in and shedding
each year.
And you could take the quiz yourself
to find out what your own estimated microplastics
impact could be.
As always, remember to go forth and do science.